TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Federico Viticci has an epic look at the current state of the iOS and Mac App Stores and how it can be improved, with a ton of quotes from developers on it. There’s a lot of good ideas here, but this struck me as particularly powerful:

“Apple is in a position where they can become a trusted source for app recommendations”, Hockenberry explained. “To some degree, they’re already doing it with the features (like Mother’s Day apps in the US). But those features don’t typically stick around. Nor is there any description of why the app was featured. I want Apple to tell me why they think the app is great. And I want to be able to find these recommended apps later on — I’ll happily go look at past recommendations for an app I need instead of searching for “todo” or “flashlight”.”

Apple started the App Store in 2008 with the intent of making it more of a place for selected applications for users, rather than the place where any and all applications are welcome. We’ve moved beyond that, but I think that idea—of Apple providing some kind of recommendations—is very appealing and would be helpful for regular users. Browsing the App Store as-is to find something new is nearly impossible, unless you’re just looking through the top of the charts or get lucky while searching.